FAQs

A Play and Active Recreation Strategy is a plan that helps the City of Kingston prioritise developing and managing play and active recreation spaces. The strategy helps us ensure we have the right amount of play spaces in the right locations and that they are designed and managed so that everyone can play!  

Often interchangeable, a play space or playground is a purpose-built setting for play. A play space may include play equipment and accompanying areas of impact-absorbing surfacing but may also include the surrounding natural features, built environment and landscape available for the purpose of play. Generally, a playground is the purpose-built pieces of equipment within a play space.

By active recreation, we mean physical activities undertaken in our free time for fun, fitness, wellbeing and health. They aren’t structured sporting competition activities – they’re the activities you do when it suits you, often in a public space at little to no cost. Popular activities include skate parks, basketball and tennis courts, fitness stations, informal play, BMX jumps, climbing walls, and ninja warrior equipment…..often we do activities with others!

This strategy does not include sporting ovals, swimming pools or bike paths. Council has a Sport and Recreation Strategy 2018 to guide the use, development and management of sporting fields and ovals in Kingston. Council's draft Walking and Cycling Plan 2023-2028 includes actions around walking and cycling infrastructure.

Accessibility refers to the physical ability of people to access a space. Accessible design mainly addresses the movement needs of people with a disability. An inclusive space invites people of all ages, abilities and cultures to come together. It utilises inclusive design principles, creating spaces people of all ages and abilities can access and enjoy.

This strategy will provide a framework for us to provide accessible, quality public open spaces for passive and active recreation to encourage active participation for all ages and abilities to help achieve the Council’s strategic direction of ‘Our city will be a vibrant, enjoyable and easy place to live’.

We are genuinely interested in listening to our community's ideas, preferences and needs. Your insights will be valued and uesd to help us plan for and deliver the best play spaces that suit your needs. 

Play planning factors in population distribution, open space networks, the walkability of a local area and resident interests and values. Kingston has four types of playgrounds - Regional, District, Local and Small Local. A good play and active recreation network should have a spread of all four classifications. 

Regional playgrounds are:

• Are large in size
• Are usually located in a significant open space setting
• Have plenty of play opportunities
• Accommodate for all ages and abilities
• Cater for residents, tourists and visitors from other municipality
• Include infrastructure such as seating, table, bins, drinking water, public toilet, BBQ, shelter, fencing, lighting, car parking 
• Have visitors that usually travel via car or public transport and stay for up to 5 hours

District playgrounds are

• Are medium in size
• Have a variety of play opportunities
• Accommodate for ages 0-18
• Cater for neighbourhoods across multiple suburbs 
• Can include infrastructure such as picnic settings, shelter, toilets, shade, and seating 
• Have visitors that live within 5km and stay for up to 2 hours

Local playgrounds are:

• Are small-medium in size
• Have some play opportunities
• Accommodate for children
• Cater for 3-4 neighbourhoods 
• Can include infrastructure such as seating, fencing, bike parking, drinking water
• Have visitors that live within a 10 minute walk and will only stay up to 1 hour

Small Local playgrounds are:

• Are small in size
• Have 3-5 pieces of play equipment
• Accommodate for young children aged 0-8 years old
• Cater for close residential blocks
• May include minimal infrastructure such as seating and possibly site fencing
• Have visitors that live within a 5 minute walk and will only stay up to 30 minutes